This is a reminder that travel doesn’t necessarily make people smarter. But the pushback will make the money-conscious owners reconsider the global ramifications of what they thought would be a local issue.

— Jason Clampet

Share

Tweet

Share

Post

Send

Nine entertainment industry-related events have been pulled from the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, both owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, in protest over the sultenate’s enactment of Islamic criminal law.

The bookings at the Southern California properties, part of the Dorchester Collection of luxury hotels, were each expected to draw at least 150 people, and three similar events at properties in Europe also were withdrawn, according to Dorchester Chief Executive Officer Christopher Cowdray.

Islamic criminal law took effect in Brunei last week, and the penal code eventually will include death by stoning for rape, adultery, and sodomy. The United Nations has criticized the code, saying it contains provisions that violate the rights to freedom of religion, opinion and expression. The Motion Picture & Television Fund may move its Night Before the Oscars fundraiser from the Beverly Hills Hotel next year if the law isn’t changed, according to Andy Gelb, a fund spokesman.

“We cannot condone or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws and as a result support a business owned by the Sultan of Brunei or a Brunei sovereign fund associated with the government of Brunei,” fund Chairman Bob Pisano, Vice Chairman Mark Fleischer, and CEO Bob Beitcher said in a statement.

Among the events that have been moved from the Beverly Hills Hotel is the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Global Women’s Rights Awards, scheduled for tonight. Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis, are co-chairmen of the awards.

The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, 3 miles (5 kilometers) to the west, are the Dorchester Collection’s only U.S. properties. The chain also includes such properties as the Hotel Athenee Paris and the Dorchester in London.

‘Global Economy’

“We have a truly global economy today,” Cowdray said in an interview today at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “Look at all the foreign investments in hotels and real estate. Our hotels are autonomously run and in that way not tied to Brunei. Religious or political views have no place in our organization.”

Dorchester Collection executives are talking to media and industry leaders, and its employees have volunteered to be part of a video portraying the hotels’ integrity that will be posted on the company’s website, Cowdray said. Dorchester also is monitoring and responding to Twitter messages.

Among those who have posted on the social-media website about the issue are Virgin Group Ltd. founder Richard Branson, who said employees and family members wouldn’t stay at Dorchester hotels until “the Sultan abides by basic human rights,” and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who last month tweeted, “I won’t be visiting the Hotel Bel-Air or the Beverly Hills Hotel until this is resolved.”

I won't be visiting the Hotel Bel-Air or the Beverly Hills Hotel until this is resolved. http://t.co/RqQrLBK4EJ

Cowdray said he expects the two Dorchester hotels in the Los Angeles area to maintain their average annual occupancy of 80 percent. Nightly rates start at $450 at the Beverly Hills Hotel and $495 at the Hotel Bel-Air this week, according to their websites.

Cowdray said he doesn’t expect the Dorchester Collection to have any problems adding a property in New York because of the controversy. The company owned the New York Palace Hotel before selling it to Northwood Investors LLC in May 2011, and is seeking a new hotel in the city, according to Cowdray.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he said. “It’s unprecedented in great part because of the social-media aspect.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at nbrandt@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net.

The Skift Daily newsletter puts you ahead of everyone about the future of travel, subscribe.

Photo Credit: FILE - In this April 25, 2012 file photo, the entrance to the Beverly Hills Hotel is seen in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hollywood is responding to harsh new laws in Brunei by boycotting the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Motion Picture & Television Fund joined a growing list of organizations and individuals Monday, May 5, 2014, refusing to do business with hotels owned by the Sultan or government of Brunei to protest the country’s new penal code that calls for punishing adultery, abortions and same-sex relationships with flogging and stoning. Matt Sayles / Associated Press